G'ravt’ 


Conquest 

Missionary  Course 


Vol.  VI.  DECEMBER,  1904.  No.  3. 


Studies  in  Missions 


Present-Day  Outlook 
in  China 

(Southern  Baptist  Convention) 

By 

ROSWELL  H.  GRAVES. 


Baptist  Young  People’s  Union 
of  America 

534  Dearborn  Street,  CHICAGO.  ILL. 
Price  5 Cents 


Studies  in  Missions. 


The  Conquest  Missionary  Course  is  a series  of  studies  in  mis- 
sions which  presents  in  four  years  a summary  view  of  the 
work,  at  home  and  abroad,  of  our  Baptist  Missionary  Societies 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  It  will  include  the  varied 
work  carried  on  by  our  Women’s  Societies  as  well  as  by  the 
general  organizations.  The  studies  are  prepared  primarily  for 
use  by  our  Young  People’s  Societies  in  their  Conquest  Mis- 
sionary Meeting.  They  will  prove  equally  helpful  for  mission- 
ary meetings  of  any  kind. 

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Entered  as  second-class  matter  at  Chicago,  111.  Published 
monthly  by  the  Baptist  Young  People’s  Union  of  America, 

324  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 


♦ 


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2 


Conquest  Missionary  Course 


Present  Day  Outlook  in  China. 

(Southern  Baptist  Convention-) 

I.  The  North  China  Mission. 

Like  the  United  States,  China’s  physical  conformation 
consists  of  a great  central  valley  flanked  by  two  other  im- 
portant sections.  As  we  have  our  Mississippi  Valley,  sep- 
arated by  the  Appalachian  range  from  the  Atlantic  coast, 
with  its  river  systems,  and  by  the  Rocky  Mountains  from 
the  Pacific  slope  with  its  rivers,  so  China  has  her  valley 
of  the  Yangtse,  separated  by  the  Peling  or  “North  Range” 
from  North  China,  drained  by  the  Yellow  River,  and  by 
the  Meiling  or  “Plum  range”  from  South  China,  watered 
by  the  West  River  and  other  streams.  In  Asia,  however, 
these  divisions  run  east  and  west,  and  not  north  and 
south,  as  they  do  in  America.  Roughly  corresponding  to 
New  York,  New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco,  there  are  the 
cities  of  Tientsin,  Shanghai  and  Canton.  The  former  is 
the  port  of  Peking,  the  political  capital;  the  second  the 
commercial  capital;  while  Cantou,  the  first  port  opened  to 
foreign  commerce,  has  been  the  center  whence  Western 
influences  have  been  diffused  throughout  the  empire.  The 
missions  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  occupy  strate- 
gic positions  in  these  three  sections,  and  are  known  as 
the  North,  Central  and  South  China  missions. 

In  the  North  China  Mission  we  have  twenty-four  mis- 
sionaries, located  in  four  cities  in  different  parts  of  the 
Shan  Tung  province,  not  very  far  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellow  River.  Two  who  were  useful  members  of  this  mis- 
sion were  taken  to  their  Heavenly  home  during  the  year. 
In  their  last  annual  report  our  missionaries  have  given 
the  following  summary  of  their  work; 

“Into  the  ten  churches  of  the  mission  there  have  been 


i 


baptized  144  persons  during  the  year,  and  the  membership 
now  numbers  776.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the 
spiritual  condition  of  our  churches  is  better  than  ever 
before,  and  our  Christians  now  give  more  promise  of  effi 
cient  service  than  heretofore.  The  number  of  inquirers 
is  probably  greater  than  in  any  previous  year,  and  the 
outlook  for  next  year  is  encouraging.  All  are  pleased  by 
the  coming  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  B.  Glass  to  Laichow  Fu. 
They  have  diligently  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  Chi- 
nese language." 


Educational  Work. 

“In  this  mission  we  have  two  boarding-schools  for  girls 
with  an  attendance  of  eighty -one;  two  boarding-schools  for 
boys  with  an  attendance  of  seventy-one;  sixteen  day 
schools  with  an  attendance  of  two  hundred  and  forty-two. 
We  have  long  felt  the  need  of  a training  school  to  better 
prepare  native  preachers  and  teachers,  and  are  gratified 
that  such  a school  was  opened  in  February.  It  will  be  in 
charge  of  Rev.  C.  W.  Pruitt  and  J.  B.  Hartwell,  D.  D.,  and 
for  the  year  1904  will  be  at  Teng  Chow.  Its  permanent 
location  is  to  be  determined  later. 

“Medical  work  is  now  being  carried  on  in  three  of  our 
stations:  Pingtu,  Laichow  Fu  and  Hwang-Hien.  At  two 
of  the  stations,  however,  Laichow  Fu  and  Pingtu,  there 
is  no  medical  missionary  and  we  are  all  earnestly  praying 
that  a physician  may  be  sent  to  each  of  these  stations  at 
an  early  date.” 

Extension  of  Work. 

“At  the  last  meeting  of  the  missionaries  it  was  unani- 
mously decided  to  extend  our  work,  and  a family  was 
asked  for  Chaoynan,  Chihia,  Tsing  Tau  and  Chefoo.  Work 
is  already  being  done  in  all  these  places  by  members  of 
our  different  stations,  but  this  requires  so  much  travel 
and  so  much  loss  of  time  that  we  feel  it  would  be  better 
to  have  a family  located  at  each  place. 

“Mr.  and  Mrs.  .1.  C.  Owen  have  decided  to  move  from 
Teng  Chow  to  Pingtu,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pruitt  will  move 
from  Hwang-Hien  to  Teng  Chow.  Only  one  of  our  num- 


ber,  Miss  Moon,  is  in  the  homeland  and  she  is  expected 
to  return  at  an  early  date.”  Since  the  report  was  written 
Miss  Moon  has  returned  to  the  field  and  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Oxner  have  located  at  Pingtu. 

Encouratfintt  Advance. 

The  reports  from  the  various  stations  show  an  encour- 
aging advance  all  along  the  line.  At  Pingtu,  they  say: 
“This  has  been  another  good  year.  A large  number  of 
villages  have  been  visited,  and  Christians  from  a wide 
area  have  been  added  to  the  churches.  The  native  pastor, 
helpers  and  Christians  have  been  very  helpful,  and  much 
of  the  success  of  the  work  can  be  easily  traced  to  their 
untiring  energy.  The  schools  are  very  prosperous.  The 
attendance  has  been  good  and  they  have  made  steady  prog- 
ress.” One  hundred  and  twenty-five  were  enrolled  in  a 
Bible  class  which  was  held  for  one  month.  This  station 
has  three  missionaries,  one  native  pastor  and  four 
churches,  with  a membership  of  four  hundred.  There 
were  sixty  baptisms  during  1903. 

At  Laichow  Fu  there  are  five  missionaries  and  six  help- 
ers. They  say;  “The  first  six  months  of  the  year  w'ere 
given  up  largely  to  the  building  of  our  new  house,  for 
which  we  wish  to  express  our  profound  gratitude  to  God 
and  to  our  brethren  who  have  provided  the  necessary 
funds.  Work  has  been  done  in  more  than  thirty  villages. 
In  some  of  these  God  has  given  us  a few  open  doors  which, 
we  believe,  no  one  shall  be  able  to  shut.  The  people  have, 
without  an  exception,  received  us  most  cordially.”  This 
important  city  is  a comparatively  new  station,  and  a 
church  with  ten  native  members  was  organized  here  dur- 
ing the  year.  Two  day  schools  for  boys  were  opened  and 
owing  to  frequent  calls  for  medicine  a small  dispensary 
was  opened  under  the  charge  of  a native  Christian  doctor, 
trained  in  medicine  by  Dr.  Watson,  of  the  English  Baptist 
Mission.  He  is  not  only  a doctor  but  also  a useful  evan- 
gelist. 

The  Hwang-Hlen  station  has  six  missionaries.  They  re- 
joice over  the  opening  of  the  “E.  W.  Warren  Memorial 


o 


Hospital,”  erected  by  the  First  Church  of  Macon,  Ga.,  and 
under  the  charge  of  Dr.  T.  W.  Ayers.  There  were  4,000 
patients  at  the  dispensary  (1,800  of  them  new)  during  the 
year,  and  many  besides  these  heard  the  Gospel  there.  The 
work  among  the  women  in  the  hospital  and  dispensary 
will  be  largely  under  the  care  of  Miss  Pettigrew,  who  is 
a trained  nurse.  They  have  one  boarding  school  and  three 
day  schools  connected  with  this  station,  and  “the  signs  of 
the  times  all  point  to  the  hope  that  Christian  education 
will  predominate  in  Chinese  life.”  There  are  two  churches 
belonging  to  this  station,  both  of  them  prospering  spirit- 
ually. They  had  twenty-one  baptisms  and  a large  num- 
ber of  inquirers.  Scores  of  new  villages  had  been  visited 
with  the  Gospel,  while  old  ones  were  cultivated.  The 
province  has  a thousand  villages  with  a population  of  half 
a million  in  an  area  of  some  thirty  miles  by  twenty — one 
of  the  densest  in  the  empire  outside  of  the  cities.  Four 
classes  for  Bible  study  had  been  held,  one  lasting  for  a 
month. 

At  Teng  Chow  Dr.  Hartwell  writes:  “I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  baptizing  fifty-five  persons  during  the  year,  the  larg- 
est number  I have  ever  baptized  in  one  year.”  It  is  a mat- 
ter of  profound  gratitude  to  God  that  he  has  crowned  the 
old  age  of  his  servant  with  blessing,  and  comforted  his 
heart  in  the  work,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  lost 
his  ioved  companion  and  fellow-helper  by  the  hand  of 
death.  He  is  blessed,  too,  in  having  an  efficient  co-worker 
in  his  daughter.  Miss  Anna  B.  Hartwell,  one  of  the  most 
consecrated  and  useful  women  in  China.  Rev.  J.  C.  Owen, 
of  the  same  station,  was  laid  aside  by  illness  for  much  of 
the  year,  but  was  still  able  to  do  efficient  work  in  preach- 
ing and  teaching.  Rev.  W.  C.  Newton  and  wife  have  re- 
cently joined  this  mission  and  are  engaged  in  the  study 
of  the  language.  He  has  taught  a promising  class  in  Eng- 
lish during  the  year. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  this  section  was  the  hot- 
bed of  the  Boxer  uprising,  and  that  the  work  was  broken 
up,  and  the  native  Christians  lost  their  property  and  many 
of  them  their  lives  during  that  fearful  time,  we  should 


6 


especially  rejoice  in  the  great  change  that  has  taken  place 
in  this  province  and  in  the  marked  advance  and  promising 
outlook  in  our  mission  here. 

o. 

The  Quiz. 

What  are  the  physical  divisions  of  China? 

Where  does  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  have  stations? 

Where  is  the  North  China  Mission  located? 

How  many  American  Baptist  missionaries  are  in  this  mis- 
sion? 

Where  are  their  hospitals  and  dispensaries? 

How  many  schools  are  there? 

How  many  members  in  the  native  churches? 

What  great  anti-Christian  movement  originated  here? 

o. 

II.  The  Central  China  Mission. 

There  are  twenty-three  missionaries  in  this  field,  dis- 
tributed in  four  important  and  populous  cities,  all  in  the 
region  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtse  River.  At  Shanghai, 
the  New  York  of  China,  there  are  eight  missionaries;  at 
Soochow,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Kiang  Su,  we  have 
four;  at  Chin  Kiang,  an  important  port  on  the  Yangtse, 
there  are  seven;  while  at  Yang  Chow,  on  the  Grand  Canal, 
we  have  four.  Rev.  T.  N.  McCrea  and  wife  have  also  just 
been  appointed  to  this  mission.  Last  year  thirty-nine  were 
added  to  the  churches  by  baptism,  and  the  total  member- 
ship is  two  hundred  and  fifty.  Though  the  smallest  of 
our  missions  numerically,  and  in  many  respects  a hard 
field,  still  the  strategic  importance  of  the  position  and 
the  recent  advance  made  in  many  particulars  make  this 
a field  that  we  cannot  afford  to  neglect. 

Shanghai  is  the  great  throbbing  heart  whence  the  life- 
blood of  the  new  influences  permeate  all  parts  of  China. 
Prom  its  teeming  presses  flow  the  streams  of  literature 
that  find  their  way  throughout  the  empire;  from  its  educa- 
tional institutions  spring  much  of  the  new  life  that  is 
making  the  dry  bones  tingle  with  excitement;  and  from 
this  city  radiates  the  light  that  is  dispelling  the  darkness 
of  superstition  and  heathenism.  Much  of  the  hope  for 
the  future  of  China  springs  from  the  influences  set  in 
motion  here,  and  that  send  their  electric  thrill  throughout 


the  whole  land.  So  no  one  should  judge  of  the  importance 
of  the  field  by  the  meagerness  of  the  statistics. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Lawton  of  this  mission  remarks:  “The  out- 
look is  promising,  decidedly  more  so  than  we  have  seen 
it  before.  The  home  churches,  by  men  and  means,  are 
beginning  to  respond  to  the  cry,  ‘Come  over  and  help  us.’ 
We  are  looking  for  them  to  heed  this  cry  in  earnest.  Our 
missionary  force,  which  for  so  long  was  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Yates,  now  numbers  twenty-three.  How  we  should  praise 
God  and  go  forward!  That  we  must  go  forward  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact  that  these  twenty-three  laborers  are 
working  in  four  cities  which  total  a population  of  a mil- 
lion and  a half  (not  to  mention  the  rest  of  the  Kiang  Su 
province,  with  its  nineteen  million  more),  where  we  have 
no  foreign  missionary;  and  not  to  mention  the  fact  that  we 
can  travel  westward  on  China’s  soil  for  two  months  with- 
out finding  any  work  done  by  Southern  Baptists!”  In 
view  of  this  destitution  Mr.  Lawton  and  Mr.  Sallee,  who 
joined  the  mission  last  year,  have  been  making  a tour 
of  exploration  in  Hunan  province  and  other  places  west 
of  Shanghai,  but  at  last  account  they  had  not  settled  on 
any  point  for  permanently  founding  a new  station.  We 
trust  they  may  be  Divinely  guided  in  securing  a new 
location. 

Besides  the  usual  evangelistic  and  pastoral  work,  a 
marked  advance  has  been  made  on  several  lines.  Rev. 
E.  F.  Tatum  tells  with  joy  of  the  new  buildings  recently 
completed.  A dwelling,  “Yates’  Home,”  erected  by  Dr. 
Yates’  daughter  for  single  lady  members  of  the  station; 
the  “Smith  Bible  School,”  contributed  through  Miss  Kelly 
by  her  friend  Mr.  Smith,  of  Alabama;  and  the  “Eliza 
Yates  Memorial  School,”  built  by  a member  of  the  mis- 
sion, have  been  finished.  These  houses  are  near  the  Old 
North  Gate  chapel  and  furnish  little  short  of  an  ideal  plant 
and  work  for  five  ladies.  Only  two  are  there.  Putting  up 
these  buildings  has  taken  time  and  patience,  but  with  an 
architect  and  a better  builder  than  the  average,  the  way 
has  been  made  comparatively  plain. 

Dr.  Evans,  of  Yang  Chow,  reports  that  his  dwelling  house 


S 


is  nearly  finished  and  that  he  expects  to  erect  a dispen- 
eary.  Appropriations  have  also  been  made  for  houses  for 
Rev.  C.  G.  McDaniel,  at  Soochow,  and  Rev.  L.  W.  Pierce, 
at  Yang  Chow. 

Brother  Tatum  reports  that  he  and  his  colleagues  have 
been  teaching  in  the  Association  Boys’  School  and  remarks 
that  he  believes  in  helping  those  who  help  themselves, 
but  that  the  cramped  quarters  admitted  the  attendance  of 
only  thirty  odd  pupils,  and  this  failed  to  supply  all  the 
needed  funds  for  incidental  expenses.  He  says:  “We  face 
Uie  alternative  of  helping  to  supply  the  means  for  a Chris- 
tian college  or  of  seeing  our  boys  enter  other  denomina- 
tional institutions  to  come  out  with  little  denominational 
conviction,  or,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  having  left  our 
churches.”  It  is  a matter  of  rejoicing  that  our  Board  has 
sanctioned  Dr.  Bryan’s  attempt  while  in  America  to  secure 
$15,000  for  this  “Yates  College,”  and  have  guaranteed  what 
may  be  lacking  to  make  up  the  sum. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a number  of  the  workers  in 
this  mission  have  suffered  from  ill-health.  Typhoid  and 
malarial  fevers  prostrated  several  of  the  ladies,  and  others 
were  prevented  from  attending  to  their  usual  missionary 
work  through  being  obliged  to  care  for  the  sick.  Miss 
Alice  Parker  of  Chinkiang  writes:  “Much  sickness  in  the 
Station  took  me  from  my  regular  work  among  the  women. 
For  nearly  six  months  it  was  my  privilege  to  minister  to 
those  who  were  called  to  suffering.  . The  English 

department  was  closed  after  the  first  month  of  Miss  Mac- 
Kenzie’s  illness,  as  there  was  no  one  to  take  up  the  work.” 
Miss  MacKenzie  was  obliged  to  seek  relief  in  a hospital 
In  America,  but  she  is  now  restored  to  health  and  has 
resumed  her  work  in  China. 

Brethren  Britton  of  Soochow  and  Price  of  Yang  Chow 
report  evangelistic  tours  in  the  country  near  their  sta- 
tions. The  latter  says:  “While  a good  portion  of  my 
time  has  been  spent  in  building  in  Yang  Chow,  I have 
not  allowed  this  work  to  detract  from  my  evangelistic 
work  more  than  is  necessary.”  He  reports  frequent  visits 
to  several  outstations  where  they  have  members  forty  and 


9 


fifty  miles  from  the  central  station,  and  adds:  "Besides 
the  above  country  work,  I have  visited  a number  of  towns 
and  villages  the  past  year,  preaching  and  selling  Gospels 
and  tracts.  The  harvest  is  slow  in  being  gathered  in 
Central  China,  but  it  is  nevertheless  surely  coming.  The 
workers  at  home  and  on  the  field  must  have  patience.” 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  workers  in  Central  China 
are  contending  against  great  odds.  The  climatic  condi- 
tions, the  indifference  of  the  people  and  prejudices  against 
the  foreigner,  resulting  from  the  moral  corruption  of  a 
great  seaport  where  men  of  all  nationalities  add  their 
vices  to  those  of  a wealthy  and  luxurious  heathen  city,  all 
tend  to  make  mission  work  difficult.  Our  brethren  here 
need  great  faith  and  patience  and  persistence  and  wisdom, 
and  should  have  the  constant  prayers  of  Christians  in  our 
favored  homeland. 

<l 

The  Quiz. 

Where  is  the  Central  China  Mission  located? 

How  many  missionaries  have  we  here,  and  in  what  cities? 

Who  founded  this  mission? 

What  new  buildings  were  put  up  last  year? 

What  is  said  of  the  educational  advance? 

What  is  the  population  of  the  province  in  which  this  mission 
is  situated? 

What  is  the  population  of  the  cities  we  now  occupy? 

Why  is  this  an  important  center? 

a 

III.  The  South  China  Mission. 

Eighteen  missionaries  represent  our  Board  on  this  field, 
with  headquarters  at  Canton,  the  metropolis  of  South 
China.  The  first  impact  of  Western  influence  with  China 
began  here,  and  this  influence  is  stili  strong.  The  Brit- 
ish colony  of  Hong  Kong,  ninety  miles  away,  is  an  object 
lesson  of  Occidental  civilization  constantly  impressing  the 
Chinese  with  Western  ideas  of  justice  in  its  incorruptible 
courts,  honor  and  enterprise  in  its  mercantile  activities, 
freedom  of  the  press,  order  in  the  civic  life,  and  liberty, 
and  alas!  too  often  license  in  manners  and  customs.  About 
the  same  distance  from  Canton  is  Macao,  a decadent  Por- 
tuguese colony,  where  the  seamy  side  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion is  seen  in  legalized  gambling  and  opium  dens,  and 


10 


where  the  infamous  coolie  traffic  a few  years  ago  had  full 
sway.  Beneath  the  external  order  is  much  moral  corrup- 
tion. Thus  in  these  two  foreign  colonies  the  vices  and 
pollution  of  Western  influence  are  seen  as  well  as  its  bet- 
ter side. 

From  this  section  the  emigration  to  America  and  Aus- 
tralia has  taken  place.  Influences  both  for  good  and  evil 
have  resulted  from  this  intercourse  with  foreigners  on 
their  own  soil.  Living  as  they  do  largely  in  the  slums  of 
the  great  cities,  the  Chinese  are  apt  to  get  their  impres- 
sions of  foreigners  from  their  surroundings  there.  They 
also  chafe  under  what  they  regard  as  the  inequalities  and 
injustice  of  our  laws  with  respect  to  the  restrictions  and 
discriminations  against  them.  The  haughtiness  and  rough- 
ness with  which  they  are  too  often  treated  also  prejudice 
them  against  the  white  man.  One  the  other  hand,  those 
who  attend  the  Christian  Sunday-schools  and  classes 
opened  for  their  benefit,  even  when  not  affected  by  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  return  to  their  native  land  impressed 
with  the  kindness  and  benevolence  of  white  Christians. 
These  infiuences  all  react  on  our  mission  work.  Some  of 
our  best  native  helpers  have  been  from  among  those  con- 
verted in  America,  while  some  of  the  bitterest  foes  of  mis- 
sion work  have  been  those  who  have  returned  to  their 
native  land  with  hearts  full  of  contempt  and  hatred  for 
the  foreigners. 

The  physical  aspect  of  our  South  China  field  may  be  de- 
scribed as  a wide,  fertile  delta  with  a network  of  rivers 
and  canals,  whence  radiate  the  valleys  of  the  West,  North 
and  East  rivers.  Our  work  is  on  the  plain  and  in  the 
former  two  river  basins,  while  that  of  the  East  river  is 
occupied  by  other  denominations.  Our  main  stations  are 
at  Canton,  Ying  Tak  and  Wu  Chow.  Our  work  is  carried 
on  in  three  dialects:  the  Cantonese,  spoken  most  generally; 
the  Hakka,  around  Ying  Tak;  and  the  Mandarin  con- 
nected with  our  station  at  Wu  Chow  in  the  Kwang  Sai 
province.  The  field  covers  a region  about  five  hundred 
miles  from  east  to  west  and  two  hundred  miles  from  north 
to  south.  More  missionaries  are  urgently  needed  for  this 
large  territory,  and  it  is  an  encouraging  fact  that  four  men 


11 


and  three  women  have  already  been  designated  for  this 
field. 

This  is  the  most  prosperous  of  our  three  China  mis- 
sions, as  we  have  some  2,750  members,  organized  into 
fifteen  churches,  with  twelve  ordained  and  thirty-two  un- 
ordained preachers  and  ten  Bible  women.  The  native  con- 
tributions last  year  amounted  to  |4,000  and  there  were  four 
hundred  baptisms. 

As  elsewhere,  death  and  sickness  thinned  our  ranks 
last  year.  These  were  chiefiy  in  our  Hakka  field.  In  April 
Rev.  S.  T.  Williams,  our  first  missionary  to  the  Hakkas, 
died  after  an  operation  for  appendicitis.  Rev.  J.  R.  Saun- 
ders and  Dr.  C.  A.  Hayes,  of  Ying  Tak,  were  also  laid 
aside  from  their  work  for  awhile  by  typhoid  fever.  These 
brethren  have  recovered  and  are  at  their  work  again.  The 
native  house  in  which  they  were  living  is  very  unsanitary, 
and  money  has  been  raised  for  a mission  house  here.  At 
last  accounts  they  were  hopeful  of  securing  a suitable  lot 
on  which  to  erect  more  healthful  buildings. 

The  Hakka  Field. 

Nearly  half  our  membership  is  among  the  Hakka-speak- 
ing  people.  They  are  less  devoted  to  idolatry  than  the 
Cantonese.  Tall  in  figure,  industrious  and  simple  in  their 
lives,  highly  esteeming  education,  they  inhabit  a moun- 
tainous section  and  are  a vigorous,  hardy  race. 

Scarcely  any  work  has  been  done  for  the  women  here, 
and  among  our  twelve  hundred  members  there  are  not 
more  than  fifty  women.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saunders  spent  two 
months  touring  among  the  stations,  and  Mrs.  Saunders 
was  the  first  woman  to  visit  the  field.  Mr.  Saunders  re- 
ports a similar  journey  this  year,  and  some  sixty  baptisms. 
There  are  five  principal  centers,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
which  the  members  are  living  in  villages  scattered  among 
the  mountains.  It  is  proposed  to  open  three  or  four  boys’ 
schools  among  these  Christians,  and  at  least  two  girls’ 
schools.  The  great  difficulty  with  regard  to  the  latter  is 
to  get  suitable  teachers.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  get 
women  and  girls  from  this  field  to  come  to  our  Canton 
schools,  but  the  difference  of  the  dialect  and  the  fact  that 


12 


the  health  of  these  mountaiu  people  seems  to  suffer  when 
they  live  on  the  plain,  have  proved  serious  obstacles  to  this 
plan. 

The  Hakka  missionaries  are  recent  arrivals,  and  Ying 
Tak  has  been  occupied  less  than  two  years.  As  the  work- 
ers gain  better  command  of  the  language  and  spend  more 
time  among  the  people,  we  hope  for  a marked  advance. 
Hitherto,  the  field  had  been  worked  from  Canton,  and 
the  time  and  money  required  for  visiting  this  difficult  but 
promising  field  have  hindered  the  proper  carrying  on  of 
the  work.  Now  the  outlook  is  much  more  encouraging  and 
we  hope  for  a large  increase. 

In  Kwang  Sai  province  “the  past  year  has  been  one  of 
much  trouble  and  suffering  for  the  people  owing  to  famine, 
pestilence,  petty  rebellions  and  much  lawlessness  and  rob- 
bery. Yet  this  has  been  the  best  year  for  our  work  that 
we  have  ever  had.” 

At  Wu  Chow  a church  was  organized  early  in  the  year 
1903,  which  with  the  Christians  in  the  outstations  now 
numbers  eighty  members.  In  this  city,  which  is  the  chief 
open  port  in  the  province,  the  “John  Stout  Memorial”  hos- 
pital, erected  at  the  expense  of  friends  of  that  lamented 
South  Carolina  pastor,  has  recently  been  opened,  and  the 
generous  donors  now  offer  to  defray  the  running  expenses 
of  the  institution.  Some  dispensary  work  was  also  done 
by  Dr.  McCloy,  in  charge  of  this  station.  One  thousand 
one  hundred  and  forty  patients  were  treated,  thirteen 
minor  operations  performed,  and  $73.95  were  received  for 
medicines  and  medical  services.  The  outlook  for  the  fu- 
ture is  encouraging.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  G.  Meadows  and 
Miss  Julia  Meadows  have  just  gone  to  this  station.  Shek 
Tong  church  is  under  the  pastoral  care  of  one  of  our  best 
men,  ordained  early  in  the  year.  “He  has  not  confined 
his  labors  to  this  place,  but  has  done  much  work  at  the 
outstations.  Among  these  Kwai-une  deserves  special  men- 
tion, for,  of  the  many  baptisms  of  the  church,  sixty-two 
were  at  that  place.  The  members  have  raised  $300  towards 
a chapel  here.”  At  Tseung  Chow  we  have  a church 
of  two  hundred  members,  and  there  are  many  calls  for 


13 


new  openings  in  the  neighborhood.  These  people  speak 
Mandarin.  Four  of  our  best  theological  students  are  from 
this  church.  They  give  promise  of  being  valuable  helpers 
and  leaders  after  further  study. 

Canton. 

Our  chief  center  is  in  this  great  city  of  one  and  a half 
million  of  people.  A series  of  union  revival  meetings  was 
a feature  of  the  work  here  during  the  past  year,  during 
which  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  gave  their  names  as 
applicants  for  church  membership;  forty-five  of  these  were 
baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  our  church.  Brother  Fung 
Chak,  the  native  pastor,  led  a colony  which  has  formed  a 
new  church  in  the  southern  suburbs;  the  First  church  is 
within  the  city  walls.  The  two  Canton  churches  have  a 
membership  of  about  six  hundred. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Canton  are  a number  of  stations,  in 
some  of  which  churches  are  organized,  and  the  members 
in  other  places  would  be  constituted  into  separate  churches 
if  we  had  suitable  men  as  pastors  and  the  members  were 
able  to  assume  their  support,  at  least  in  part. 

In  the  Sz  Yap  (Four  Districts)  region  we  have  seven 
outstations  with  three  hundred  resident  members  who 
should  be  organized  into  three  or  four  churches.  Many 
of  these  have  been  converted  in  America,  as  most  of  the 
emigration  to  the  United  States  is  from  this  section.  At 
San  Cheung,  an  important  towm  in  a central  position,  “a 
good  lot  has  been  bought  and  paid  for,  which  is  large 
enough  for  a chapel  and  missionary  residence.  The  Chi- 
nese in  America  have  nearly  completed  the  raising  of 
$1,500  gold  to  build  a chapel  here.  In  the  Hok-shan  dis- 
trict, north  of  Sz  Yap,  we  have  a church  of  forty-three 
members  at  Nam-tung  and  an  outstation  at  Ping-ling.  In 
the  Shun-tak  district,  between  Sz  Yap  and  Canton,  a 
promising  work  has  sprung  up,  and  thirteen  have  been 
baptized  during  the  year.  They  propose  to  pay  their  own 
preachers  and  build  themselves  a chapel.  These  people 
are  well-to-do.  This  district  has  been  extremely  anti- 
foreign  until  very  recently.” 

At  Sai-nam  is  located  our  Associational  Mission,  a na- 


14 


live  home  mission  station.  They  are  rapidly  becoming 
self-supporting,  and  have  bought  land  on  which  they  will 
build  a chapel  as  soon  as  they  are  able.  They  number 
about  forty.  At  Tsing-une  we  have  a church  of  seventy- 
nine  members.  They  are  at  present  without  a pastor,  but 
own  their  chapel  in  the  city  and  one  at  Shek  Kok,  twelve 
miles  away.  “They  have  gained  somewhat  during  the  year 
and  the  outlook  is  hopeful.”  The  Tsung-fa  church  has  a 
pastor  and  fifty-four  members.  They  have  three  outsta- 
tions  and  a school,  and  the  past  year  has  been  a good  one 
with  them.  The  church  at  Shiu-hing  has  a very  efiBcient 
native  pastor  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  members. 
There  are  four  outstations  connected  with  this  church, 
at  two  of  which  quite  a number  have  been  baptized  of  late. 
The  brethren  have  bought  a lot  at  Lin-tong  and  have  about 
enough  money  in  hand  to  build  a new  chaped. 

O. 

The  Quiz. 

Why  is  South  China  an  important  field? 

What  are  the  natural  divisions  of  this  region? 

How  many  mi.ssionaries  have  we  here? 

How  many  dialects  are  spoken? 

What  of  the  Hakka  field?  What  of  the  people? 

How  many  members  have  we  here? 

Tell  of  the  Kwong  Sai  work. 

What  of  the  Canton  field? 

How  many  missionaries  have  we  in  the  South  China  field? 

o. 

IV.  South  China  Mission  (Cont.)  and 
Concluding  Remarks. 

Educational  Work. 

Canton  is  the  center  of  our  educational  work.  Our  mis- 
sion has  reached  a stage  of  growth  where  this  branch  of 
the  work  needs  to  be  emphasized.  There  seems  to  be  a 
general  trend  in  this  direction.  At  the  last  meeting  of 
the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  at  Cleveland,  this 
necessity  was  made  prominent,  and  it  was  resolved  to  at- 
tempt to  raise  half  a million  dollars  for  endowing  and 
maintaining  schools  on  their  mission  fields.  We  have  in 
Canton  a Theological  School  which,  though  existing  for 
years,  has  of  late  been  more  thoroughly  organized,  For 


IS 


both  spring  and  fall  terms  thirty-two  students  have  been 
enrolled.  Some  of  these  preach  during  the  sessions  and 
in  the  vacations,  and  four  have  been  taken  on  as  helpers 
for  another  year. 

The  Boarding  School  for  girls  is  also  located  here.  “The 
building  has  been  crowded  and  some  women  and  girls 
have  been  turned  away  for  want  of  room."  Sixteen  girls 
and  five  women  were  baptized  during  the  past  year.  This 
institution  is  intended  especially  for  the  families  of  our 
native  Christians,  and  to  this  we  have  to  look  chiefiy  for 
our  future  supply  of  teachers  for  the  girls’  schools,  and 
our  Bible  women. 

There  are  five  girls’  day  schools  in  Canton,  one  in  Shiu- 
hing,  one  in  Sai-nam,  one  in  Tsing-une,  and  one  in  San-ui. 
The  enrollment  in  these  has  reached  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty.  Those  in  Canton  are  visited  and  examined  once 
a week  by  the  lady  missionary  in  charge,  but  those  else- 
where have  not  such  constant  oversight. 

The  Canton  Academy  is  a school  for  boys  conducted  by 
our  native  Christians  without  being  any  expense  to  the 
mission,  or  under  its  direct  control.  The  enrollment  last 
year  was  sixty-five,  twenty-four  of  whom  were  converted 
and  baptized. 

Work  Among  the  Women. 

The  men  of  the  present  generation  may  be  reached 
through  our  chapel  and  street  preaching,  but  the  women 
must  be  reached  mainly  through  house-to-house  visitation. 
Miss  Whilden  has  devoted  herself  especially  to  this  form 
of  work,  and  reports  that  the  opportunities  for  last  year 
were  exceptionally  good.  The  Bible  women  did  a good 
work,  and  there  is  great  need  of  more  of  them.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  secure  a supply  of  suitable  workers.  Chinese  w'om- 
en  usually  do  not  know  how  to  read,  and  our  Christian 
women  have  to  learn  after  their  conversion.  Chinese  ideas 
of  propriety  forbid  young  women  from  engaging  in  this 
work,  so  it  is  only  middle-aged  women  who  have  no  fam- 
ily cares  or  the  older  women  who  are  adapted  to  it.  Much 
good  has  been  done  already  and  this  is  a form  of  work 
which  should  not  be  neglected  in  the  future. 

16 


Colportage  lias  always  been  an  important  brancb  of  our 
work  in  South  China.  During  the  past  year  the  sales 
were  twice  as  large  as  the  year  before.  The  total  number 
of  tracts  sold  amounted  to  87,655,  for  which  $189.55  were 
received. 

The  China  Baptist  Publication  Society. 

This  society  is  not  immediately  connected  with  our  mis- 
sion, but  belongs  to  all  the  Baptists  of  China.  It  may  be 
mentioned  here,  however,  as  the  plant  is  located  in  Can- 
ton, the  society  had  its  inception  here,  and  its  efficient 
Secretary,  Rev.  R.  E.  Chambers,  is  a member  of  the  South 
China  Mission.  This  society  was  organized  only  a few 
years  ago,  but  it  has  about  $32,000  (silver)  invested  in 
land  and  buildings.  Some  of  these  are  bringing  in  a 
rental  which  will  in  a few  years  pay  off  the  sums  borrowed 
for  their  erection. 

Our  press  issues  The  True  Light  Monthly,  the  only  Bap- 
tist periodical  published  in  China.  Its  circulation  is  stead- 
ily increasing.  Sunday-school  leaflets  are  also  published. 
The  most  important  issues  of  the  year  are  as  follows:  An 
edition  of  the  Chinese  New  Testament,  revised  version; 
copies  of  each  of  the  Gospels  and  of  Acts;  Gospel  Hymns, 
in  Chinese  (revised  edition);  Rev.  C.  W.  Pruitt’s  transla- 
tion of  Meyer’s  Present  Tenses  of  the  Blessed  Life;  Mrs. 
J.  C.  Owen’s  translation  of  Stalker’s  Life  of  Christ;  Dr. 
Graves’  Paraphrases  of  Paul’s  Epistles;  Matthew,  Mark 
and  Luke  in  Hakka  colloquial.  84,171  volumes,  besides  25,- 
700  short  tracts,  making  a total  of  109,871  issues,  virere  sold 
for  cash  during  the  year.  Thousands  of  books  and  tracts 
for  other  missions  have  been  printed  from  the  press,  mak- 
ing over  200,000  volumes,  large  and  small,  which  have 
been  issued  during  the  year.  This  is  a flne  showing  for 
our  new  institution,  and  indicates  that  the  “present  day 
outlook”  for  our  literature  in  China  is  very  encouraging. 

Lines  of  Advance. 

There  is  every  reason  for  hope  with  regard  to  the  mis- 
sion work  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  in  China. 
Notice  especially  the  following  lines  of  advance; 


17 


Self  Help.  Of  the  fifteen  chapels  in  our  South  China 
mission,  twelve  have  been  erected  by  the  natives  without 
direct  help  from  the  appropriations  of  the  Board.  They 
also  own  the  academy  building  in  Canton,  and  houses  for 
the  pastors  in  some  of  the  stations.  Several  of  the 
churches  are  nearly  or  altogether  self-supporting  as  to 
pastors’  salaries  and  current  expenses.  This  is  a refutation 
of  the  report  that  the  Chinese  converts  are  merely  “rice- 
Christians.” 

Education.  There  has  been  a marked  advance  in  the 
matter  of  education.  The  Theological  Schools  and  the 
Yates  Memorial  College  soon  to  be  erected  in  Shanghai 
at  an  expense  of  $15,000  gold,  show  that  Southern  Bap- 
tists are  alive  as  never  before  to  this  branch  of  the  work, 
made  necessary  by  the  progressive  stage  the  mission  work 
has  reached.  As  compared  with  some  other  missions  our 
work  has  been  along  evangelistic  rather  than  educational 
lines,  but  new  times  demand  new  methods  and  the  devel- 
opment of  our  work  demands  a change  of  emphasis. 

Medical  Work  is  emphasized  as  never  before.  Hospitals 
have  been  opened  both  in  North  and  South  China.  We 
have  more  medical  missionaries  than  ever  before,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  ere  long  we  may  have  women  physi- 
cians. The  humanitarian  side  of  our  religion  commends 
itself  to  the  Chinese,  and  medical  work  is  not  only  in  the 
line  left  us  by  the  Master,  but  proves  itself,  by  experience, 
to  be  an  important  auxiliary  to  the  direct  preaching  of  the 
Gospel. 

Christian  Literature  is  assuming  importance  as  never 
before.  As  the  number  of  native  converts  increases  we 
must  afford  an  opportunity  to  the  men  of  thought  and  of 
literary  talent  among  them  to  influence  their  fellow-coun- 
trymen through  the  printed  page;  we  must  create  and 
satisfy  a demand  for  a deeper  knowledge  of  the  truth  by 
means  of  commentaries  and  Christian  books,  which  will 
set  our  Christians  to  thinking  and  remove  the  mental  stag- 
nation into  which  their  minds  have  fallen  through  merely 
memorizing  the  literature  of  the  past,  valuable  as  much 
of  this  may  be.  Then  we  must  attract  the  attention  of 


18 


the  heathen  to  the  glorious  truths  which  we  teach  and 
arouse  them  from  the  intellectual  sluggishness  into  which 
they  have  sunken,  and  try  to  quicken  their  hearts  by  the 
fresh  truth  from  heaven.  There  is  much  yet  to  be  done 
along  all  these  lines.  The  chief  instrument  must  be,  in 
the  future,  as  it  ever  has  been  in  the  past,  the  Word  of 
God  entering  the  soul  through  the  ear  or  through  the  eye, 
and  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  heart. 

Evangelization.  If  foreign  missionaries  ever  seemingly 
neglect  this  great  and  divinely  ordered  means  of  propagat- 
ing the  Gospel  it  Is  not  because  they  have  lost  confidence 
in  it,  but  rather  because  we  now  have  an  army  of  trained 
native  preachers  and  pastors,  and  a missionary  may  feel 
that  he  can  accomplish  more  for  the  work  by  multiplying 
himself  through  giving  his  energies  to  the  training  of  na- 
tive converts  to  tell  the  message  intelligently  and  effi- 
ciently. The  opportunities  of  preaching  the  Word  are  now 
greater  than  ever,  and  the  Gospel  is  “sounded  abroad’’ 
more  and  more  as  one  portion  of  the  empire  after  another 
is  opened  up. 

Thus  the  outlook  for  to-day  is  full  of  hope.  We  should 
ever  praise  God  for  the  progress  whereunto  we  have  al- 
ready attained,  and  look  forward  with  faith  and  hope  to 
the  future.  Paul’s  missionary  prayer  In  that  great  mis- 
sionary chapter,  Romans  fifteen,  is  never  out  of  date; 
“And  now  may  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and 
peace  in  believing  that  ye  may  abound  in  hope  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.’’ 

R.  H.  Graves. 

Missionary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the  Southern 

Baptist  Convention,  Canton,  China. 

e 


The  Quiz. 

Tell  of  the  educational  work  in  Canton. 

Speak  of  the  work  among  the  women. 

How  many  tracts  were  sold  last  year  by  the  Colporters? 
Tell  of  the  China  Baptist  Publication  Society. 

How  many  books  and  tracts  were  sold  last  year? 

In  what  lines  has  there  been  a marked  advance  of  late? 
What  is  the  Present  Day  Outlook  for  our  China  Missions? 


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Conquest  ^Meeting  for  December. 


“Present  Day  Outlook  in  China.” 

(Southern  Baptist  Convention.) 

(Suftfested  Protfriin.) 

Christmas  Song  Service. 

Prayer. 

Scripture  Recitations;  Isaiah  53:10-12;  Daniel  7:13,  14;  Isaiah 
49:8-12;  Isaiah  9:6,  7;  Matthew  2:1-15. 

Prayer. 

Singing. 

Recitation  by  Junior:  “Christmas.”  (See  “Our  Juniors”  for 
December.) 

Paper:  North,  Central  and  South  China  Missions  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention.  (With  Map  Exercise.) 

Prayer  for  the  missionaries  in  China,  who  are  far  from 
home  at  this  Christmas-tide. 

Singing. 

Twenty  Quickening  Questions. 

Fifteen  Forceful  Facts. 

Special  Music. 

Reading:  “The  Other  Wise  Man.” 

Prayer,  that  all  may  remember  the  “Inasmuch.” 

Christmas  Offering  for  Missions. 

Closing  Song:  “Joy  to  the  World.” 

For  suggestions  as  to  preparation  of  program  see  “Service” 
for  December,  1904. 


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